Kathleen Bursley, formerly general counsel for Harcourt Brace Javanovich, died on January 30. She was 61.
After graduating from law school in 1976, Bursley joined the law firm Haight, Gardner, Poor & Haven. A few years later, she joined Harcourt’s legal team. Bursley was promoted to general counsel in 1992, and remained with the publisher until 2002.
Along her career, Bursley worked with several book industry organizations, including the Association of American Publishers. Later, she was named chairman of the copyright committee of the International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers. She also served as chairman of the International Publishers Copyright Council.
After leaving HBJ, Bursley moved to Long Beach, Calif., where she worked as an independent publishing consultant, specializing in intellectual property.
